I’ve categorised this as a salad, but it really is so much more. Inspired by the classic Caesar salad, I’ve added chicken, which is a common additional extra, and my Italian spin of crispy prosciutto and farfalle (butterfly) pasta, which makes this a complete, deliciously tasty, meal. Great for an easy dinner, and leftovers make perfect lunches the next day.
I love ancient history, particularly Roman history, but the classic Caesar salad has nothing to do with the famous Roman Emperor. The Caesar salad was actually invented in Mexico by an Italian-born chef named Caesar Cardini (perhaps he was named after the Roman Emperor by ancient history loving parents?). He owned an Italian restaurant named after himself, Caesar, which was originally in San Diego, California. But he moved it to Mexico during the prohibition days (1920 – 33) so he could serve alcohol with his meals. It makes sense. An Italian not serving alcohol (at least a glass of wine) with a meal would have seemed absurd.
As you can imagine, his restaurant became very popular. I’m sure part of it was because he served great Italian food, but very likely because Americans could cross the border into nearby Tijuana and enjoy a night out drinking without getting arrested. His restaurant was so busy, it is said he frequently ran out of food and often had to improvise to keep the meals going out. That’s how the Caesar salad came to be.
The Caesar Salad as we know it today, was an improvisation of the typical Italian salad; insalata mista, literally meaning ‘mixed salad’ which contains salad/lettuce greens, tomato, cucumber, red onion, carrots, and parmesan cheese. Sometimes it has a little chilli or a handful of olives. Doused in a classic olive oil vinaigrette dressing, it is a simple and fresh accompaniment to many meals, especially grilled meat.
Sometime in the early 1920s Caesar Cardini ran out of the ingredients for his insalata mista and gathered what he had in the kitchen and cupboards together – lettuce, bits of leftover bread, lemons, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and asked his chefs to make something out of them. They added a little Worcestershire and emulsified the egg with olive oil to make a creamy dressing, mixed with some herbs and spices and voila, the Caesar salad was born.
But enough with my obsession with history. We can thank Ceasar Cardini for the inspiration, which has made the Caesar Salad known worldwide. Like all classic dishes, it is commonly given a few tweaks from the original version. Adding a protein amps this up from a side dish to a complete meal. I’ve eaten Caesar Salad with prawns or salmon, but the most common addition is chicken. I like to use grilled chicken breast but diced up sauteed chicken thigh fillets are also good. As is meat ripped form a store-bought BBQ chicken, or remnants of leftover roast chicken you have lurking around in the fridge.
Bacon often accompanies the typical Caesar Salad now, even though it didn’t appear in the original. I prefer the crunchy saltiness of thin prosciutto, baked in the oven until crisp. It can be shattered into shards and tossed through. Simple to make, just lay flat on an oven tray and cook until crisp (watch it doesn’t burn!).
The classic croutons are simply chopped up leftover bread (stale is perfect, but fresh also works), sloshed with a little olive oil and herbs and baked in the oven. I love these, and they store well, so worth making extra. You can throw them into any salad, or serve with stews or soups.
The biggest diversion in my recipe is the addition of pasta. It gives a heartiness to this dish that elevates it from side salad to complete meal.
Now, I need to tell you that there is a golden rule when cooking pasta. Usually, you would cook pasta until al dente, then strain, and add straight to your sauce. You never rinse it as the cooking water is a vital component of ensuring pasta doesn’t clump together and creates a silkiness that adds oomph to the sauce. Pasta water is often added to the sauce to thicken it. However, when makes pasta salads, this is the ONLY exception to the rule. Pasta needs to be rinsed, drained, then thrown into a bowl and tossed with olive oil to prevent them sticking together. Therefore, cooking the pasta first, allowing it to sit in its slick of olive oil while it cools while you put together the other ingredients makes perfect sense.
As with most of my recipes, feel free to make this your own using what you’ve got. As mentioned earlier, if you haven’t got time to cook chicken, just rip up a store-bought BBQ chook. I have also added sliced tomatoes and avocado to this, and it is very good.
One more thing, my recipe uses mayonnaise tweaked with a few added flavours to replicate a classic Caesar Salad dressing, rather than asking you to make a mayonnaise emulsion from scratch. I’m all for making life easier, and have long ago stopped being a purist about making everything from scratch. Life is simply too short. By all means, if you like, make your own mayonnaise and go from there.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C (355°F).
- Cut the bread into crouton size chunks. Place onto a baking paper lined oven tray and drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with the oregano. Toss to combine. Bake for 10–15 minutes or until crisp and light golden in colour. Set aside.
- Lay the prosciutto in a single layer on a baking paper lined oven tray. Bake for 6 minutes or until crisp. Remove and set aside to cool.
- Place a large pot of water on to boil. Once boiling, add a good pinch of salt and the pasta. Stir to prevent clumping and boil until cooked. Drain, rinse and toss with 2 tbsp olive oil. Set aside.
- Mix the mayonnaise, mustard, olive oil, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Use your hands to rip the Cos lettuce into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl with the red onion, cooled pasta and sliced chicken. Add the mayonnaise mixture and mix gently to combine.
- Tip out onto a large serving platter or bowl. Crumble the crisp prosciutto and sprinkle over, add the eggs, toasted croutons and shaved Parmesan. Grind some black pepper over and serve.
Recipe from my book: Easy Hme Cooking Italian Style, New Holland Publishers. Images : Jonathan JDK
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